Refrigerator



J. A. NONES REFRIGERATOR Filed March l2,

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` Jose-PH A. NOA/Es y lNvENToR BY//IA www ATTORNEY Patented June 16, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- 2,044,011 REFRIGERATQB Joseph A. Nunes, New York, N. Y. Application March 12, 1934, Serial No. 715,007

4 Claims.

My invention relates to refrigerators and has v with a. number of shelves forming separate com.

partments inside. The walls of the cabinet and the shelves are provided with apertures for circulating cold air inside. A door in front is provided for closing .these compartments.

With this arrangement all compartments must be open even when an access to only one compartment is desired. The warm air enters all these compartments every time the door is opened, thereby causing increased consumption of the electric power, if it is an electric refrigeratcr, or a rapid melting of ice in an ice refrigerator.

In my improved refrigerator this disadvantage is largely eliminated. For this purpose I provide the individual compartments with separate doors, so that only one compartment may be opened and the contents exposed when desired, leaving ail the other compartments closed. I further provide the walls of these compartments, as well as the shelves, with apertures for circulating cold air through them. Sliding members are further provided for closing these apertures, and these members are operatively con-- nected with the doors, so that the apertures are closed when the doors are opened. 'Ihe opened chamber is, therefore, fully isolated from the rest of the refrigerator. I also provide means for connecting the sliding members `so that the apertures in all the compartments becomev lclosed when only one door isopened, thereby insuring the complete stoppage of circulation of the cold air when one of the doors is opened. Springs return the members thereby opening the apertures when the doors are closed.

Mv invention is more fully described in the accompanying speciiication and drawing in` .which- Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of my Irefrigerator, Fig. 2 is the same with allthe compartments closed, Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3 3, Fig. 2, viewed from the bottom, Fig. 4 is a transverse section of a modified device taken on the line 4-4, Fig. 6, Fig. 5 is a detail view of the locking device for the door shown in Flgs. 1 and 3, Fig. 6 isa partial sectional view of the device shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a front view partly in section of a modified refrigerator, Fig'. 8 is a plan sectional view of the same, and Fig. 9 is a I be cooled by ice placed inside, .or by a suitable refrigerating machinery (not shown) of any ordinary type, gas or electric. Horizontal shelves 4 are supported inside of the cabinet, forming separate compartments or chambers 5. Individual doors 6 are provided for each of the compartments. It should be noted that with this arrangement the large door 3 may be dispensed with. The doors 6 are connected by hinges 1 with the front edges of the shelves 4 so that in open position the doors form extension of the shelves as shown in Fig. 1. 8 are provided in the doors.

The shelves 4 are provided with apertures 9 permitting the cold air to circulate freely from one chamber to another. Sliding plates or members I are supported under the shelves between guide rails II. The front ends of the plates I 0 rest against curved lugs I2 on the lower edges of the doors 6'. 'Ihe rear ends of the plates are pivotally connected with arms I3 rigidly mounted on a vertical shaft I4 rotatively supported in bearings I5. An additional arm I6 extends from the middle of the shaft and engages the end of a compression spring II which tends to turn the shaft so as to move the plates I0 outward against the lugs I2. In this position of the plates, their holes I8 register with the holes 9 as shown in Fig. 2. The cold air therefore freely circulates between the chamberswhen the doors are closed. The sides of the doors 6 are provided with locking pins I9 slidably tted in corresponding holes and pressed outward by springs 20. The ends of the pins are rounded oiI and are adapted to engage depressions--in the side walls I of the refrigerator housing. Enlargements on the ends of the pins inside prevent the pins from leaving theirY holes when the doors are open. The pins, while retaining the doors in closed position, can be forced in by applying `suiiicient pressure to the door for opening it or closing. 'I'he door can be then turned vinto a horizontal position. The lug I2, being flat at the rear and rounded oiI at the front, pushes the plate I 0 back thereby turning the shaft I4. The latter in turn pulls back all the other plates I Il thereby closing all the holes 9.' 'I'he inner edge of the lug I2 rests against the bottom of the shelf 4 thereby retaining the door 6 in the horizontal/position. 'I'he door 6 will rem'ain in the open horizontal position, the spring I1 being unable to lift the weight of the door through avery small turning moment at the hinge 1. With this arrangement, therefore, the chamber having its door open becomes completely insulated from the others all the air duets being closed.

Stops ZI are provided in the side walls ofthe.

pins I9 register with corresponding holes 22 in the walls thereby retaining the doors in the closed position.

A modified arrangement is shown in Figs. 4 and 6.- The cabinet 23 has a front door 3, shelves 24 with holes 25, and individual doors 26 for the compartments formed by the shelves. Sliding plates 21 are placed under the shelves being retained by guiding bars 28. The plates have lugs 29 sliding in corresponding slots in the doors and in the rear wall of the cabinet. Springs 30 tend to push the plates outward. Pins 3| extending from the shelves 24 into slots 32 in the plates limit the outward movement of the plates. The front lugs 29, extend beyond the face of the cabinet when the door 3 is opened and the plates are pushed out byv the springs 30. The apertures 25 are closed by the plates in this position, so that 4the circulation of the cold air through the chambers is stopped. When the door 3 is closed, however, it depresses the lugs 29 forcing the plates back and causing their holes 33 to register with the holes 25 thereby permitting the air to circulate through the chambers in the cabinet.

Another modification is shown in Figs. '7 and 8. The refrigerator cabinet 34 contains a tubular shell 35 with an opening 36 in front occupying about 90 of a circle. Additional ports 31 are provided in the rear for admitting cold air inside of the shell. Sliding covers 38 are placed on the outside of the shell and are provided with handles 39.

An arcuate cover 40 is provided in front of the cabinet. A shaft 4I is placed in the center of the shell. Round housings 42 are mounted on the shaft and can be turned around by hand. Partitions 43 divide each housing into segmental chambers 44. Vent holes 45 in the partitions provide air ducts for the chambers.

l 'I'he left cover 38 is shown in a closed-position in Fig. 8, while the right cover is shown open. When both covers are open, then the ducts or ports 31 are closed, and the chamber is thereby closed to the cold air in the refrigerator'cabinet. The food in the front segmental chamber can be handled without exposing the rest of the cabinet to the warm outside air. By turning the housing all the other segmental chambers can be successively exposed. The outer door 40 is then, of course, open.

With the covers 38 pulled together in front so as to close the port 36, the rear holes 31 become open permitting the cold air from the cabinet to circula through the segmental chambers.

Ano er mciilcation is shown'in Fig. 9. The cabinet 46 has shelves 41 with vent holes 48. Sliding plates 49 are placed on the shelves with guiding rails 50 at the side walls of the cabinet. Drawers I, having front and rear walls and open on top, are supported on the plates 49. The plates have slots 52 for rear lugs 53 of the drawers. The slots extend to approximately one half of the length of the plates, so that the drawers partly pull out the plates when the rear lugs engage the ends of the slots 52, as shown inFig. 9, the top drawer. The front lug 54 pushes the plate back when the drawer is replaced in the cabinet.

yThe bottom of the drawer 5| has a hole 55 registering with the hole 48 when the drawer is pushed all way in. The plate 49 also has a hole l5 registering with the other holes when the drawer is pushed in, thereby permitting the cold air to circulate through the drawers. The holes 48 and 55 are closed when the drawer is pulled out.

Important advantages of my refrigerator are that it permits an individual access to the comi partments, each compartment which is open being completely isolated from the rest of the cabinet, thereby effecting economy in the cooling medium and in the power used for refrigerating the inside of the cabinet.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a refrigerator, the combination with a cabinet. of a plurality of shelves in said cabinet forming separate chambers in said cabinet, said shelves being provided with apertures for admitting cold air into said chambers, closing members for said apertures slidably fitted under said shelves, doors in front of said chambers hingedly connected with the front edges of said shelves, lugs on the lower ends of said doors adapted to move said sliding members when .said doors are opened thereby closing said apertures, said lugs being further adapted to retain said doors in a horizontal position when opened thereby forming extensions for said shelves, means to resiliently retain said doors in a closed position, and a retrieving means for said members for opening said apertures when said doors are closed.

2. In a refrigerator, the combination with a cabinet, of a plurality of shelves in said cabinet "forming separate chambers, said shelves being provided with apertures fOradmitting cold air into said chambers, closing members for said apertures slidably fitted under said shelves, doors in front of said chambers hingedly connected with the front edgesof said shelves, means to retain said doors in horizontal position when they are opened, means to close said apertures by said apertures by said closing members, said closing means being adapted to be operated by said door 4o retaining means, and means to open said apertures when said doors are closed.

3. In a refrigerator, the combination with a cabinet, of a plurality of shelves in said cabinet forming separate chambers, said shelves being provided with apertures for admitting cold air into said chambers, closing members for said apertures movably tted under said shelves, doors in front of said chambers hingedly connected with the front edges of said shelves, means to retain said doors in horizontal position when they are opened, means to close allthe apertures in said shelves when at least one of said doors is opened, said closing members being adapted to be operated by said door retaining means, and means to open said apertures when all the doors are closed.

4. In a refrigerator, the combination with a cabinet, of a plurality of shelves in said cabinet forming separate chambers, said shelves being provided with apertures for admitting cold air into said'chambers, closing members for said apertures movably supported on said shelves, doors in front of said chambers hingedly connected with the front edges of said shelves, means to retain said doors in horizontal position when they are opened so as to form extensions of said shelves, lugs on the hinged portions of said doors adapted to move said members into closing position, and a resilient means for moving said members into opening position when said doors are closed.

' JOSEPH A. NONES. 

